New Concepts to Support Working Parents in the Car
Rachel Eardley, Abigail Sellen
Consumer Applications and Systems Laboratory
HP Laboratories Bristol
HPL-2004-30(R.1)
May 24, 2004*
car, mobile, design,
working parents,
concepts
Working parents are an interesting segment of the population because
they have heavy demands in both home and work spheres. In an initial,
in-depth study, we discovered many different strategies that working
parents employ to help them cope with work and family demands
whether they are at work, at home or mobile. Following on from this first
study, the validity and extent of car-related stresses for a larger sample of
working parents was confirmed in a follow-up questionnaire involving
715 people in both the US and the UK. Here, we found many of the most
severe everyday problems for working parents were related either
specifically to being in the car, or were more general problems
exacerbated by being mobile. On the basis of this finding, we conducted a
follow-up workshop with six working parents to discuss car-related
issues in more detail. The result is this catalogue of design ideas showing
some of the initial concepts we have developed to help working parents
cope with these and other stresses and strains of everyday life.
* Internal Accession Date Only
 Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 2004
Approved for External Publication
DAD
MUM
CHILD
New Concepts to Support
Working Parents in the Car
Sept 03 - Jan 04
Rachel Eardley, Abigail Sellen.
Hewlett-Packard Labs, Bristol
CHILD
Working parents are an interesting segment of the population because they have heavy demands in both home
and work spheres. In an initial, in-depth study, [Beech et al., 2003] we discovered many different strategies that working
parents employ to help them cope with work and family demands whether they are at work, at home or mobile. This
research also highlighted working parents’ heavy dependency on the car as a kind of “mobile habitat” in which work and
home demands are dealt with. More particularly, we found that the car is the context within which the transition both
geographically and mentally between work and home life is managed. Because of this, working parents spoke of a number
of particular stresses associated with car travel.
Following on from this first study, the validity and extent of car-related stresses for a larger sample of working parents was
confirmed in a follow-up questionnaire involving 715 people in both the US and the UK [Sellen et al., 2004] . Here, we found
many of the most severe everyday problems for working parents were related either specifically to being in the car, or were
more general problems exacerbated by being mobile. On the basis of this finding, we conducted a follow-up workshop with
six working parents to discuss car-related issues in more detail. Among the issues that most concerned them were:
• The stresses of having to drop off or pick up children on time due to the uncertainties of traffic and unexpected
demands from home or work.
• Stresses surrounding remembering objects and items for school and work that must be taken in the car or
transferred between cars.
• The difficulty of taking care of work activities (e.g., time management and communications) while in the car.
• The difficulty of communicating with family and managing and coordinating family life while driving.
• The difficulty of entertaining children, especially younger ones, on longer journeys.
This catalogue of design ideas shows some of the initial concepts we have developed to help working parents cope with
these and other stresses and strains of everyday life.
Page i
Introduction
pg i
Content
pg ii
Context-based Control Level of interaction
pg 1
Intelligent Use of the Mobile Phone in the Car
pg 2
System to Support School Pick-up of Children by Trusted Adults
pg 3
HUB connection for USB products
pg 4
Parental Control for in-car entertainment
pg 4
Digital Window for In-Car Entertainment
pg 5
Web Cam Route Planner
pg 6
Hotspot Personal Reminding System
pg 7
Paper-Based Audio for the Car
pg 8
In-Car inventory System
pg 9
References
pg 10
Page ii
Context-based Control of Level of Interaction
School
Football
kickoff at 3pm
30 accidents in the past month
Complicated Road System
3 pedestrians
killed last year
Interaction
Level 1 Interaction
Level 5 Interaction
&
+Audio
Visual
Audio &
Visual
Mobile Phone (Hands Free Audio Interaction)
Digital Car Stereo (DAB, USB Expansion Slot, MP3)
Heating / Air Conditioning (interaction)
Traffic Navigation (Simple Audio Navigation)
Audio &
Basic
VIsual
+ Audio
Audio
Email Headers (Visual or Audio)
Home Computer Access
IP video conferencing
Traffic Navigation (Map & Webcam)
City Centre
Common Accident Spot
Road Junction
Roundabout
Traffic Queue (Stopped)
Motorway M4
A38 Main Road
A38 Traffic lights (Main Road)
Raining & A38 Main Road
School
With increasing numbers of applications being developed for the car, there is a danger that drivers will be
inundated with too much audio and visual information, distracting them from the primary task of safe
driving. This concept uses information about external context to limit the level and type of interaction
possible within the car.
This concept works by combining various kinds of information about physical conditions with information
specific to location and time from wireless connection to a digital database. Physical conditions might
include: road conditions, road type, traffic volume, speed of the car and weather conditions. Information
from the database might include data about whether one is in a school zone, accident black spot, or nearing
a complicated junction, and whether there are local events taking place such as football matches.
This contextual information is intelligently combined to restrict interaction within the car, for example by
choosing from one of five levels of interaction possible, ranging from audio-only information all the way up
to full audio-visual interaction with in-car systems. This then supports drivers by helping them focus more
fully on the driving task by filtering out and making unavailable surplus, distracting information.
Page 1
Intelligent Use of the Mobile Phone in the Car
Mobile Phone Registered
Please Select Status
Setting Mobile Phone
Status for in car..............
Emergency Only
Family & Friends
Work & Business
Create New Message
All Numbers
Default
Default
Filter
Answering the mobile phone when attached to the car internal network
Incoming Call
Incoming Call
Name: Rob
Tel: 0797307973
Time: 8.45
Status: Friend
Answered Call
Answer Call
Email Conversation
Call Ended
No
Yes
End Call
Yes
Recipitent
Rejected Call
Filter
Rejected Call
Unable to answer
In car. Please leave
a message
End Call
Yes
Message format
Missed Calls
N: Rob T: 0797307973 Ti: 8.45
N: Rob T: 0797307973 Ti: 8.45
N: Rob T: 0797307973 Ti: 8.45
Email
Voice mail
Caller
Working parents need and want to be in touch with family and with work colleagues while in the car, but they want more flexibility over how this
is done both for safety reasons, and so they can control their availability to others. In this concept, the hands-free set connects to an in-car system
which allows drivers to select their availability level depending on whether they wish to be in touch with work only, home only, everyone, or only
for emergencies. It also offers them a choice of how to deal with calls, for example by allowing the option of recording calls or translating the voice
to text and emailing the conversation to themselves. In turn, the mobile phone "knows" it is in the car, and lets callers know this fact, offering them
a choice of various ways of leaving a message.
Page 2
System to Support School Pick-up of Children by Trusted Adults
a) pick up by a friend/partner/parent nearby, save time by being in the location
b) for older children who are able to walk home, and might want a lift part way
automatically rings number
Running late, start walking
home, will get you on the
way.
Running
late, are
you able
to pick up
Running
late, start
walking
home, will
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRS
TUVWX YZ
Running late, are you able
to pick up Jim .
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRS
TUVWX YZ
Answering the mobile phone when attached to the car internal network
Running
late, are
you able
Digital Classroom notice board, giving
the teachers and children knowledge
of the activity changes.
a) Mary Lamb is picking up Jim
Running
late, are
you able
b) Jim's walking home
c) Contact teacher: (running late, can Jim go to the after school club) or (traffic bad should be there in 15 mins, sorry)
One stressful problem for working parents is the difficulty of picking up children from school due to the uncertainties of work demands and traffic. This concept proposes a mobile
in-car system that allows parents to make safe, alternative arrangements until they arrive. It does this by allowing them to see which trusted adults are in the vicinity of their child's
school so that they can be quickly contacted on their mobile phones to request pick-up of their child. (Parents invite other adults they know in advance to sign up as part of their
trusted network.) At the same time, a message is sent to the school about the new arrangements, which may be displayed, for example, on a digital noticeboard at the school. A
version of this for older children with mobile phones might involve sending them a message to begin walking home. The parent can then track their progress and pick them up
Page 3
HUB connection for USB products
Keyboard
Power
USB - connection
Add music to the car
stereo via a memory
stick.
USB
Hub
Car Charger
MP3
hp
physical or wireless
Memory Stick
Parental Control for In-car entertainment.
This concept shows a method of creating easy access for USB devices in the car. It allows working parents to carry the newest
stories or videos on a portable device such as a memory stick. By simply plugging it in, the files can be loaded into the in-car
entertainment system, thus keeping the car system up to date with digital media. This system would also allow for the integration
of portable devices such as MP3 players, printers, joysticks and keyboards as well as allowing the USB devices to be powered and
charged.
Radio
- Radio 4
- GWR
- Classic FM
Stored Media
- aqualung
Selection - Radio 4
Play position
2
3
Now Playing
Select Media Type
Radio 4
2 aqualung
3 Beauty & Beas
Audio
Visual
Video
- Beauty & The Bea
- Toy Story
- Finding Nemo
Game
- Space Invaders
Selection - Beauty
2
Beauty
&
The Beast
aqualung
Play position
1
Radio 4
3
This concept allows the working parent to control and maintain awareness of in-car media viewed or listened to by the children.
The parent can select the media type (music, video, or computer game) choose the album or movie and specify where the media
can be accessed. This method helps deal with the problem of the parent having to help their younger children change tapes or
cds.
Page 4
Digital Window for In-Car Entertainment
Digital Window - detected
would you like
to activate
Digital Window - activated
please select
programme
adding
device
Alien Attack
Treasure Hunt
History Tour
History Tour
GPS Positioning
GPS Positioning
Watch Tower
Watch Tower
built in 1066
destroid by
catapult, by
the nepolian
army.
Treasure Hunt
found 0
to - find 30
Phone boxes
collect 30
found 0
to - find 30
found 1
to - find 29
found 1
to - find 29
for a bonus card
Alien Attack
Speed 30 miles
Speed 35 miles
Top Score - 10000
Speed 30 miles
ZAP
Alien Attack
Lives - 3
Speed 40 miles
Lives - 3
Top Score - 10000
Lives - 3
ZAP
Top Score - 10000
Entertaining both younger and older children in the car can be a problem on long journeys. The digital window
emulates a roll-up car sunscreen allowing passengers to play games through touch input. Through the use of a
semi-transparent e-paper screen, and using camera input capturing scenes outside the car, this concept makes
possible a whole new realm of games that incorporate features of the external environment. These include:
" A treasure hunt game where children must find and collect objects during a car journey. As they come into view,
the child touches the object on the screen and points are awarded and displayed. Objects could also transform
themselves into other graphical objects on screen (such as characters) when they are touched.
" Using features of the real world such as the speed of the car, characters within a game could take on different
powers, or make possible different actions such as in an alien attack game.
ZAP
GAME OVER
Score - 9826
Lives - 3
Top Score - 10000
Lives - 3
Top Score - 10000
" Colours of things in the environment could be used in a simple "finger painting" art program, whereby children
have to collect and capture colours (and maybe even textures) to add to their palletes in order to create pictures.
" When combined with wireless network technology, extensions of this idea could include educational, contextaware games. For example, a history-based game could give historical information about local objects and
landscapes viewed through the display window.
There may be additional advantages to such a system in terms of encouraging children to look out of and through
the car windows rather than at small screens within the car. This may be better in terms of preventing car sickness,
for example.
Page 5
Web Cam Route Planner
Fastest
Most Direct
Motorway
Side - Roads
Main - Roads
New Route
Jim's School
HP Work
Local Tesco's
Petrol Station
set destination
Exit B60182
A38 1
M5 2
M32 3 4
A20 5
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
Cam 3
Cam 2
Cam 5
Cam 4
set route type
start journey
Cam 3
Web cam access point
along journey
Cam 2
Cam 5
Cam 4
touch screen access points
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
traffic congestion alerts
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
Select the area and then the camera
Cam 1
Cam 2
Cam 3
Cam 4
Cam 5
Cam 6
View the up to date traffic flow
buttons placed on
steering wheel interact
with scrolling images
scroll through set journeys, web cam network
A major problem for working parents is traffic congestion on the daily commute to and from work. This system proposes making use of strategically placed Web cameras in order to view in
advance the traffic conditions at key junctions. Views can be quickly accessed and scrolled through on a small display in the car because the system has stored the routes for the most
frequently travelled journeys. Glancing at the display allows the driver to quickly make a decision to take a different route if necessary. Alternatively, for new routes, the system can help in
planning the best way allowing drivers to plan the route based on assessing the traffic at key junctions.
Back-Seat Baby Cam
child in car
activate internal
camera?
Yes
No
An idea for a simple camera and screen system to keep an eye on the baby in the back seat. An advantage of using cameras and displays rather than mirrors is that an additional camera
attached to the driver's display can capture and display the parent's image to the baby over the in-car entertainment display mounted on the back seat.
Page 6
Hotspot Personal Reminding System
To do (school picking 3.20pm)
- Question about parents night
- Collect Jim's PE bag
- get Jim's home work
9.00
approching
work update
Almost Home
Shopping
- Next (trousers grey age 14)
- B&Q (brass 3/4 screws)
Creating to do list
Triggered at the Supermarket
Audio + Visual
To Do
Shopping
Food
House Hold
Home
network
Add
School PickUp
Remove
To Do
Shopping
Food
- Milk
House Hold
Add
Remove
Audio + Visual
Triggered at Jim's School
To Do
3 reminders
Home
network
On Way to Work
Item Added
List
Triggered 1 mile from work
List
Parents Night
PE Bag
Home Work
Audio + Visual
To Do
Work
network
5 reminders
22 emails
1 meeting
Email
- Windows Update
- Imaging Technolo
- Talk Invitation / R
This concept uses hotspot wireless network technology to deliver personal reminders into the car based on location. Working parents can create home-oriented
ToDo lists (including shopping lists, or reminders related to the children) or work-oriented ToDo lists (such as tasks which need completing or upcoming
appointments) which are stored either on a home or work database. These are triggered at appropriate places or when approaching key "landmarks" (such as the
home, school or work) when in the car. The reminders can be delivered either visually or using speech-to-text technology.
Page 7
Paper-Based Audio for the Car
Bristol Evening Post
Audio Book Detected
Bristol Evening Post
Digital
input
Paper
Network
Play
Digital Audio Version
Book
Audio Book Detected
Two Towers
Return Of The King
Digital
Input
Play
Home
Network
Digital Audio Version
WebSite Audio
WebSite Audio
Download Favourites
Digital
input
The Register
BBC News
Tech-Critic
mobilebristol
Internet
This concept describes a way for working parents to enjoy paper-based reading materials in the car to make better use of this time either for entertainment, information or
education purposes. The system we propose requires that books and magazines are tagged with electronic identifiers such as RFID tags which uniquely identify the existing audio
files associated with the paper publications. When the book, newspaper or magazine is put in the car, and in-car RFID tag reader reads the tag and sends the identifier to a
database which calls up the associated audio file. This could happen in various ways. For example, it could make use of a 3G telephone connection whereby audio is uploaded
from the internet to the car and streamed into the car. Another possibility is that homes have internet-connected servers. The car might upload and cache materials via Bluetooth
from the car to the home server overnight while parked near the house. These materials are then available for journeys the next day.
Furthermore, one can imagine a voice-input system for the audio which allows drivers to quickly browse in a hands-free way to where they left off in paper-based publication. For
example, they might say "Chapter 10" to get to the beginning of the chapter where they left off, or say the page number. If the publication is a newspaper, they may want to "skim
headlines" or "read the sports section", all activated by speech.
Page 8
In-Car Inventory System
Home
School
physical
physical
digital
digital
15/9/03 - items missing
15/9/03 - School Timetable
Jim Maths
English
Gym - football kit
Reading
Jim's - school bag
Maths Book
items
required
15/9/03 - location jim's school
15/9/03 - location jim's school
Jim's - school bag
items in
car
items
required
items in
car
missing
items
Visual or Audio
15/9/03 - Car Inventory
Jim's Bag
Maths Book
RFID
input
Jim's Bag
Priority Objects
A significant problem for working parents is remembering all the items that they and their children need to take with them in the
morning during term time. This concept proposes a system of RFID tags used in conjunction with an in-car inventory system. By tagging
key objects (such as book bags, PE kit, books, keys, and wallets) a sensor in the car can detect and list all the objects that enter the car so
that the parent can check all the necessary items are on board before leaving the house. A simple version of this would list the items on
board and display them on a small screen inside the car. A more advanced version would be used in conjunction with an in-house
database which would compare the items in the car with details of the family calendar which keeps track of which events take place at
school and work on which day of the week. The list for the day could simply be displayed for the parent to mentally check what was
needed, or it could be compared against the inventory of tagged items in the car and highlight missing items. Such a system could also
be used to track missing items by establishing where they were last "seen".
Page 9
Beech, S., Geelhoed, E., Murphy, R., Parker, J., Sellen, A. & Shaw, K. (2003). The Lifestyles of Working Parents.
HP Labs Technical Report HPL-2003-88.
Sellen, AJ., Hyams, J. and Eardley, R. (2004). The everyday problems of working parents: Implications for new technologies.
HP Labs Technical Report HPL-2004-37.
Eardley, R. ,Hyams, .J. and Sellen, AJ. (2004). In-Car Concepts to Support Working Parents .
Proceedings of CHI '04. ACM Press New York.
Page 10